An Investigative Proposal
On the Systemic Change
Created by the Black Panther Party
With Recommendation for CYIC and ACTIVOS



Javier Cordova, Mark Sanchez,
and Pablo Banuelos
March 16, 2009
Rudy Lozano Leadership Academy
Social Justice 101
Section 1: Introduction
“I expected to die. At no time before the trial did I expect to escape with my life. Yet being executed in the gas chamber did not necessarily mean defeat. It could be one more step to bring the community to a higher level of consciousness.” –Huey P. Newton
Imagine being in front of a crowd of people, organizing a grassroots march or just saying what you feel to your people. Imagine everyone following what you say and seeking your advice. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine trying to change the injustice around you? Can you imagine bringing systemic change to the world by using popular power? Can you imagine systemic oppression for your whole childhood? Can you imagine accepting the internalized oppression you were put in? That was the life of Huey P. Newton and the Black Panther Party. They were facing racism and they were being mistreated and decided to create an organization and fight the system. As Huey P Newton said, “The walls, bars, the guns and the guards can never encircle or hold down the idea of the people.”
Section 2: Who were the black panthers?
At one point black people were excepting internalized oppression for a long time from the white government. After so much systemic oppression, the Black Panthers emerged from the oppressed grassroots. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale started the Black Panthers in 1966. Huey Newton once said “my fear is not of death itself, but a death without meaning”. The Black Panthers began in Oakland California. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale were willing to die for what they believed was right. The Panthers were a social group, not a group of destruction or a negative group just a positive group trying to make a change within a there community. Huey Newton and Bobby Seale started the Black Panthers because of neglected towards African American, racism, and no rights for African Americans.
Section 3: Main Ideas
The main purpose the black panthers were equal rights that’s also what they believed in They wanted to end all racism and police brutality. They wanted to do better for the community. They had medical clinics and gave out food to school children.
The black panthers wanted freedom. They want power to determine the destiny of their Community. They believe that black people will not be free until they were able to determine their destiny. They want full employment for black people. They believe that it was the federal government responsibility to give every man employment or a guaranteed income. They want an end to the robbery by the white man of Black Community. They want education for black people that exposes the true nature of this decadent American society. They want education that teaches them their true history and their role in the present-day society. They want all black men to be exempt from military service. They believe that Black people should not be forced to fight in the military service to defend a racist government that didn’t protect them. The wanted freedom for all black men held in federal, state, county and city prisons and jails.
Section 4: Respond
The Black Panthers did seek real systemic change against police brutality and racism. The way they fought the cop was by walking around their community and making sure the cops do their job the right way. Most of the times they would find them selves shooting at the cop, the cops would kill them. Their fight against racism was their biggest challenge because the government would be killing the Black Panthers main leaders and give out a fake cover up story, of how the pulled out a gun and shoot at them first, to the press. That still did stop them of trying to reach their go of end of all racism. They were so effective in their community because they would have meetings and plan out movements. Other strategies they did were branching off from California to New York and other states and cities. More than 45 branches of the Black Panther Party were set up across the country. They would also make news papers to inform their and other communities what they see wrong and how they can change it.
Section 5: Recommendations to CYIC and ACTIVOS
ACTIVOS and CYIC can learn a lot about the Black Panthers. Huey Newton said “you can jail a revolutionary, but you can’t jail the revolution.” The Black Panthers fought against the government and what the government believed in. The Black Panthers fought in an none violence way. Black Panthers were very organized and very educated in there rights. ACTIVOS and CYIC should fight just like the Black Panthers did. The Black Panthers had a very big impacted in their community that people started to join the Black Panthers. The Black Panthers fought for systemic change, and in doing so they won the battle even though they lost many great panthers along the way.
1.) Have rally’s about the issues that’s affecting your community.
2.) Try to spread out the issue that is affecting your community by making your own newspaper or flyers.
3.) The Black Panthers had survival programs which meant to develop positive institutions within the community to help individuals meet their needs. The Black Panthers did this because state or federal systems were already under servicing the Black community.
Section 6: Conclusion
The Black Panthers were abiding by the rules and were forced to create this group in order to be able to move forward. They also were being pushed back by the government and by law enforcement. As Huey P. Newton said, “There will be no prison which can hold our movement down.” They took matters into their own hands and started helping the community and organizing grassroots marches. They weren’t a violent organization but weren’t afraid to show they could bare arms. We think that they were a crucial part of history because they showed that they weren’t taking anything else from the system. They were being harassed by the law enforcement in their area so they made their own police. “The policemen or soldiers are only a gun in the establishment’s hand. They make the racist secure in his racism”, Huey once said. Finally we think the Black Panthers were a great organization that used their resources to rise up from the bottom. Huey P Newton was a very smart person that used his knowledge for good, and many people knew that and wanted him gone. “There’s no reason for the establishment to fear me. But it has every right to fear the people collectively- I am one with the people.” He started a revolution and it will be remembered forever. “You can jail a revolutionary, but you can’t jail the revolution.” –Huey P Newton.



Bibliography
Internet:
AFRO-Americ@: THE BLACK PANTHERS." Black Panther Movement. 1996. The Afro-American Newspaper Company of Baltimore, Inc. 20 Mar. 2009 <http://www.afroam.org/history/Panthers/panther-lead.html>.

Scott, Mary. "UC Berkeley Library." UC Berkeley Library. 1996. The Library, University of California. 4 Mar. 2009 <http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/pacificapanthers.html>.


West, Cornel. The Black Panther Party. Ed. David Hilliard. New Mexico: University of New Mexico P, 2008.

Books:
Jamal, Mumia A. We Want Freedom: A life in the Black Panther Party. 1st ed. Perseus Distribution, 2004

Shames, Stephen. The Black Panthers. Ed. Charles E. Jones. Distributed Art D.A.P., 2006.

Films:
The Black Panther Party & The Civil Rights Movement. Perf. Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, and Chairman Bobby Seale. DVD. 2004-2008.